Establishing good verbal and non-verbal communication strategies within my classroom, from day one on my professional experience, was fundamental in promoting positive behaviour and building valued relationships. Students were introduced to the chime (non-verbal) as a signal to Stop everything and Listen. This tool worked well when trying to get my students attention after group work.

 

I used a variety of other non-verbal communicative means to convey messages without interrupting the flow/momentum of my lessons such as:

• Eye contact and facial expressions as indicators of respect and attentiveness when my students and I engaged in discussions (I must mention here that eye contact might have different conventions in different cultures such as Indigenous Australian cultures).

• Gesture, posture and positioning: on many occasions I would kneel-down next to my student’s desks indicating my willingness to help them when experiencing difficulties understanding a task or I might stand and pause in front of my class with my hands folded to demand attention because of a disruptive behaviour.

• Proximity to stop chatter or gentle touch on the shoulder to indicate encouragement and support (De Nobile, Lyons & Arthur-Kelly, 2017).

 

My voice (verbal) was also used purposefully as I employed my tonal range, inflection, articulation and volume to always speak clearly and confidently when giving instructions, re-focusing or affirming student’s behaviours (Churchill, Godinho, Johnson, Keddie, Letts, Lowe, Mackay, Mcgill, Moss, Nagel & Shaw, 2016). My approaches to building effective communication strategies consisted of active listening, open discussions, descriptive-praise and negotiations. My student’s response was reciprocal.

 

I will continue to employ a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies in my future classroom as I have seen how they can influence classroom management and positively support student engagement (Words: 275).

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